August 1981
Two young, lovely sisters Dana & Lily Underhill (20 & 18 years old) are teaching sailing lessons (to earn money for attending art school) at Newport harbour to a group of wealthy children. One of the kids is a 8 year old 3rd grader, Sam Trevor (oceanographer wannabe). Crooked glasses & teeth with braces, this poor kid was given a life of hope by Dana. She taught him sailing for free. Being with her, he could temporarily forget the hardships back at home.
Unexpectedly an accident takes place while sailing & Sam is injured.
He falls overboard but Dana & Lily save him in nick of time. Dana resusciates him successfully and grateful Sam responds, ''I'll protect you forever''.
21 years later
Dana Underhill, the single, famous artist working in Honfleur, France
Coming back to Hubbard's Point in Black Hall (30 miles east of New Haven, CT), back to where her family belonged.
She has come to visit her mother & her nieces Quinn & Allie Grayson.
And to probably take them with her back to France.
She had promised Lily she would.
Lily had told her that if anything were to happen to her, Dana should look after Lily's children as her own.
Lily & her husband Mike had met their Maker in a sailing accident on a clear, moonlit night.
Quinn is 12 years old & has unkempt hair. She's not bothered about her untidy appearance & puffs secretly.
Allie is younger & more outgoing.
Both miss their parents terribly, especially Quinn.
Quinn knows some bitter secrets about her parents, none that others in the family are aware of. And she keeps frequenting Little Beach, to her diary (hidden safely beneath the shore rocks) and pens her feelings for the day. When she's done & after placing her diary back to where it belongs, she never forgets to place a simple daily gift on the shore, near to the waves - a little white flower for her precious mum, Lily.
A pleasant surprise awaited Dana when she got back to her hometown.
She meets a 29 year old handsome, strong oceanographer - Sam Trevor.
Hardly does she know that Sam still has a huge crush on her, pure love that stood the test of time, 21 years exactly.
Hardly did Sam know in their first meeting after 21 years that Dana had painful experiences which she hesitated to share to him.
The death of Lily that temporarily paralysed Dana's zest for painting.
Not to mention also the split with her boyfriend & fellow artist, Jonathan.
He tried to encourage her, mostly impatiently, to get over Lily's demise and resume working. Fed up quicky, he left.
Days later, Dana found him in bed with Monique (a beautiful Vietnamese model who posed for Dana's paintings).
Questions best left unanswered by this review
Sam's deeply in love with Dana especially since the day of his sailing accident 21 years ago. What about the elder Dana? The Dana who had enough troubles of her own and has now 2 nieces & her own mother to look after?
Will she open to Sam's selfless heart?
What secrets does Quinn's very young heart hold?
What hidden truths about her parents?
She's determined to pay off her parents' debt, come what may.
Only then she feels her parents' souls will rest in peace.
What is this debt? What exactly is Quinn's mission?
Had Lily &Mike really been in an accident? Or was it suicide?
Quinn's not sure but fervently hopes it to be the former.
One man, she feels, can help her confirm this.
The new stranger in her life, Sam Trevor.
A beautiful, touching work of fiction.
But to me, the characters & their lives were real.
Closing my eyes, I saw myself in the house of the Underhills, sitting on the floor near the fireplace, the surroundings quiet, Quinn sitting besides me & sharing her diary. Talking animatedly of her secrets...
I saw myself as Sam Trevor. Stroking Dana's hair softly & wiping her wet cheeks. Giving her shoulder a warm grip, I was telling her to let bygones be bygones.
I saw Lily's divine presence, looking down lovingly at her daughters & laughing at their antics.
Gifted author Luanne Rice, with her simple, lucid words, helped me imagine.
To visualise in rich detail every scene in Safe Harbour.
The time stood still while I slowly turned the pages & was touched by the loving comraderie of Sam, Quinn, Allie, Dana & Lily.
The romance, mystery, the little pinch of comedy and the best of all - the magic that shone brightly towards the ending pages. That fulfilling suspense.
And I thank Luanne for it - for giving this book the best suspense it could receive.
Or should I thank Lily Underhill for it.........
Safe Harbour is like an angel who places an arm gently across yours, leaning onto your waiting shoulders & whispering something special into your ear.
And you are enjoying every moment of it.
Treasure this book but spread its message - love
Gestures matter Sam. Leave your footsteps in the sand, and you just might set something into motion.
Augusta Renwick, character in Safe Harbour
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